Best Friends Forever
by Talulah-Bear
Summary: Love. Hate. Fear. Comfort. Life has never been easy for Quil and Claire. She's finally old enough to know the truth, but when disaster strikes the La Push pack, their lives are thrust back into chaos. Will they ever find peace in this love? Sequel to Quiw
1. Prologue

**Howdy. Okay, so maybe I lied. I didn't tell you guys about the other new characters in an authors note for _Quiw_, but I figured, you'd be able to figure things out pretty well. Just in case you don't though, I'll inform you later in this AN. If you haven't read _Quiw_, you probably should. I suppose it's not neccesary, but eh...it would be alot less confusing once we actually get into it. So...yeah. THE SEQUEL'S HERE! Yeah, I'm excited too. And, I'll be the first to admit it, this is a pretty lame first chapter, but I was getting antsy and I needed to upload something...so here it is! Oh, and just FYI, the first actual _chapter_ chapter is taking a while because Claire's character is rather...complex. So that wont be up for a while, but be patient or I just wont update. So there. I'm just kidding, I'll update if you pester me, just don't expect gold or anything. So, yeah. Read, review, be merry. (Heh. I get to start a new review collection. Yipee! Please start it off well!)**

**_Added Characters: (Who are pretty dang sweet if you ask me...but...you probably wont.) (And these are just bare essential details mmk?)_**

**_Sydney Bayak: Jacob's imprint._**

**_Alexa Knott: Paul's imprint. (Who I don't think is actually mentioned by name in this chapter, but that's who she is.)_**

**_(Well okay, so that's kind of lame, but they're the only one's I mention in this one. There are a whole butt-load more, but you'll just have to wait till next time for those little buggers.)_**

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Claire or Quil or Jacob or any of the gloriously sexy werewolves...I do own anything you don't recognize however. **

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P R O L O G U E

It started when she was two years old. The ultimate specimen of perfection, Claire would have had my heart even if I hadn't imprinted on her. Those bouncing black pigtails, curled into perfect ringlets, and neon orange hair bands were captivating enough without the beautiful face beneath them; but it was the face, not the pigtails that was forever tattooed on my mind.

Day in and day out, Claire was the only thing I could seem to focus on. Even over the two and a half year gap where I lived – if you call what I did living – without her, I never forgot that sweet face. When the pain of separation was at its worst, and I felt as though I would melt into the ground, she visited me in my dreams. When all lights were out and the intensity of loneliness hit its hardest, I heard her voice calling my name.

So even though I say she left me, and that I was deprived of my Claire, I know I'm lying.

Because I was never without her.

Claire never leaves me.

xXx

As she grows into the woman I exist, purely to love, I find myself in turn, becoming who I'm supposed to be. Claire brings out the best in me, whether she means to or not. Her laughter is my oxygen, her smile my happiness. Every part of my Claire is magical, from the tips of her perfect toes to the crown of her beautiful head, I love her; truly, wholly, completely with every fiber of my Werewolf being.

Obviously I love her, she's the only reason I was put on this earth, and that's hard to ignore. When a wolf imprints, they can't help it, they _have_ to care about and protect their imprints; it's instinct.

But with Claire it's different. I honestly _love _her. Not because I'm obligated or because I'm acting on instinct; I just love her, who she is, and what she's become.

Well okay, I won't say that the other wolves don't _love_ their imprints, because I know that's a lie – I've seen their emotions, I know – but what they've gone through together, and what Claire and I have gone through together are two completely different things.

Not one of the four other wolves that have imprinted had to wait _fourteen years_ to tell their imprints. Not one of them had to wait for their imprints to _grow up._

Jacob had to wait just over a year for Sydney to warm up to him, Jared and Sam hardly had to wait at all, and Paul didn't at all. Collin…well Collin's imprint doesn't know he exists yet, but he'll get there before he hits the fourteen year mark.

I've been waiting so long. So long for her go grow up. So long to be able to tell her what I am… how I feel about her. So long for it to be okay to tell her how I feel.

It hasn't been easy; not one second of it.

I have Claire, and that's all I need to live. I could wait one-hundred years for her, so long as I got to be with her. I would give my life, anyone's life to save hers. My Claire is my life. My life, is Claire.

She's my best friend, she's fifteen years old, and she's the most amazing person I've ever met.

Though I suppose I'm a little biased.


	2. Fate I Guess

**Howdy. Muah-ha-ha! Tis done! After weeks of toiling, I have COMPLETED this chapter. And started the next. Yes yes I know, no autographs please. :)**

**On another note, I'm so very sorry that it took so long to update...Things happen. Heh. Anyways, I'm really excited about this story now, and I hope this chapter makes up for the lost time! I couldn't help slipping a little Jared/Kim fluff in there, so...be prepared. Oh, and if the picture description seems tedious...it is. But there IS a reason, so fear not dear readers.**

**Oh... AND I'd like to thank all of you that reviewed last chapter! You made my day...er...week. (s) I really do appreciate it, and I hope you will repeat the favor. **

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The sun rose slowly into a cloudless sky and I watched it break over the treetops with a smile on my face.

What a way to start a birthday week!

I got dressed for school based on the fact that we had a sunny day in Washington. My mood was rare – as was the weather – and could only be described with one word: ecstatic.

I managed sanity with only _one_ cup of coffee, my makeup cooperated with me, and my hair relented from its usual curly mess and actually straightened into a more socially-acceptable monstrosity. I went the entire morning without fighting with my loser-reject brother Daniel. I dodged my father's daily homework inquiry, (Had I finished all of it? How did I think I'd done? Had I checked my math in the back of the book?) My mother's personal survey, (How was I feeling? Was I having a good morning? How did _that_ make me feel?) And my sister's wardrobe check. (Did _those_ shoes really go with _that_ shirt? Really?)

Today was a good day.

I skipped down our narrow flight of stairs humming something that sounded strangely like "You are my sunshine."

"Good morning Jim." I announced and pecked my father on his stubbly cheek. It had been a habit – for as long as I could remember – to call my father by his first name. I just couldn't work my mind around "Dad."

"Someone's chipper." He laughed and ruffled the morning paper loudly.

"Mhmm." My mouth was full of granola bar when he asked his next question.

"Is Jared giving you a ride to school today?"

I rolled my eyes and swallowed. Jared and Kim Burns had been giving me a ride to school since my first day at QTS High school. You'd think he'd be able to remember two years worth of free child-transportation.

"Yeah Jim, it's taken care of." I patted his balding – not bald – head on my way back up the stairs to grab my book bag.

"When will they be – "A loud honk interrupted him mid-question.

"Now I guess." I bounded up the stairs and almost bowled over Daniel. "Sorry Danny!" I squeaked and stumbled the way into my bedroom. A million band posters from the 80's glory days greeted me; all bright colors and bolded titles. Led Zeppelin and their shiny stairwell couldn't distract me today though. Jared wasn't one for patience, and he _would_ leave without me.

I tripped over my empty clothes hamper, - most of my wardrobe doubled as carpet – stumbled to my desk, and clumsily tugged my canvas messenger bag into my arms. In my hurry, I knocked the picture frame off of my night stand. Since I didn't have time to reminisce I righted the photo and then hauled butt out the door.

I knew that picture inside and out without looking at it anyways. It had been a birthday present from my best friend, two years before.

As most of my _good_ pictures were, this snapshot had been absolutely spontaneous and un-expected. In it, I was perched on his shoulders, laughing wildly while he reached up to tickle me. A fire burned in the background and gave the whole thing a very surreal feeling.

It was my favorite of millions, merely because of the memories that night held, and what I had realized there.

That night, sitting on my best friends shoulders at the family bon-fire, I'd realized that I was in love with him.

Quil. My best friend.

xXx

"What's the hold up?" Jared barked the second I dove into the backseat, panting.

"Pretty sunrise," I gasped and he rolled his eyes before starting the car and pulling out of the driveway.

"Of course." I heard him mutter. A dainty hand snaked out of the passenger seat to pat his shoulder. Tiny Kim was almost impossible to spot. She was killer at hide and go seek.

"That's the artist in you." She explained in her soft voice. Kim was the resident art teacher at QTS, and was always trying to bring out my "inner artist."

She always glared at me when I told her my inner artist had retired at age eight.

"Bad morning Airhead?" I asked Jared and kicked the back of his seat. He growled.

The nickname'd had the effect I'd been hoping for.

Sometime during my "Jefferson Airplane" phase, Jared, Kim and I had come up with nicknames for one another.

The aptly named "airhead" was all my doing, because if you said it fast enough, it kind of sounded like Jared. He'd been in a foul mood that day too, and quickly dubbed Kim – who was laughing hysterically – "Dim." This left poor innocent Kimberly to name me, and since she'd never been one for cruelty, I became "Clay." (An art medium…go figure.)

It was often brought up – by me – that mine was the only nickname that didn't hint at an IQ of 5.

"Long night." Jared's voice dragged me off of memory lane. The sympathy that Kim felt for her exhausted-chaperone-husband was almost tangible.

"I told you to stay home. I _can_ drive you know." She whispered sweetly, probably forgetting that I was there. She reached up and massaged his hair lovingly, pity screaming from her round eyes.

"I'm fine Kimmy." He was the only one aloud to call her that. Well, the rest of us _could_ I guess. If we wanted our eyes clawed out. With pebbles.

She let it drop when he used the pet name, but didn't take her hand out of his hair. I was going to ask if it was glued there, but we were at school and I wasn't feeling spiteful.

"Thanks Airhead," I said. He shot me a playful glare and I smiled.

"See you second period Dim."

I leaned down on the door handle and almost screamed when it didn't open. I always forgot that the left door was locked from the inside.

"Are you sure _your_ name shouldn't be Airhead Claire?" Jared laughed as I scooted to the other side.

"Oh, but you fit the part so well." Kim erupted into a fit of giggles and I escaped before Jared could mess up my hair or something equally as evil.

I inhaled deeply once outside, savoring the sweet scent of sunlight. I shook my hair out of my eyes.

"Claire!" A familiar voice shouted and I sauntered over to a group of my friends that had gathered by the flagpole.

"How is it that all of your little pals are hot older men?" Ashley – the shouter – asked me and jerked her head in the direction of Jared and Kim.

I shrugged. "Fate I guess."

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**Heh. Fate. Funny stuff. Read, review, be merry. I love you, and please please please let me know what you think!**

**Arriverdirci.**


	3. Cub

**Howdy. Sorry it took so long guys, alot of crap has been going on lately - my little sister getting in a car accident being one piece of it - and updating has kind of been way down there on my priority list. I just got a burst of creativity and finished this chapter which I've had _almost_ done for about four days now. I hope you like it, because it is extra long and I'm kind of proud of it...and hopefully it also makes up for the absence. Read, review, be merry...and make me feel better. :)**

**DISCLAIMER: I own anybody you don't recognize mmk?**

**Arriverderci.**

**Oh...and sorry kids. No Quil yet. There's a brief encounter, but we haven't actually seen him yet at the end of this...but next time. I promise.**

* * *

I was halfway through my last class of the day – science – dozing happily, when my phone buzzed in my pocket. I jolted awake and jammed my hand between it and the echoing metal bar pressed into my hip.

With a quick inspection of the surrounding room I relaxed; nobody had noticed.

It buzzed again stubbornly.

I bit my lip and for the firs time in my life attempted to formulate a plan to sneak out of class. Someone behind me burped and my light bulb flickered on.

"Mr. Jones, can I go to the nurse?" I blurted, trying to make my voice sound sick and feeble.

"Absolutely not." His pompous voice rebounded through the classroom, cutting all side conversations short. "I'm in the middle of explaining the temperature decrease in-"

"Well then do you have a beaker I could throw up in?" I smiled innocently as he pointed me out to the hallway, his dark face an odd shade of green. A few kids snickered as I passed and I tried to ignore them. My phone buzzed again on the way out; I tried not to look _too_ guilty.

Only when the door was shut and I'd assured the fact that I was alone in the hallway, did I pull the contraption out.

The screen blinked: _three missed calls_ and I rolled my eyes. So impatient!

I dialed the familiar number and waited for him to answer.

One…Two…Three…

"Hey Cub." The deep hum of Quil's voice sounded quietly. A smile crept to my lips at the use of _his_ nickname for me. Not condescending and sharp like _Airhead_ or _Dim_, but loving and sweet. A term of endearment.

Cub. Claire Uhla Burns.

"Hey," I slumped against the wall behind me and settled onto the generic carpet with my chin on my knees. "What's up?"

"I just wanted to apologize for not coming to lunch today." His voice was dripping with regret and I could feel myself softening automatically. Every year since I had started the sixth grade, Quil had been coming to lunch on my birthday week, just to get me excited and ready for the _blessed_ event. He had kept his promise – every school day before my birthday – until today. The breaking of a pact lay heavy in the air, but I couldn't be _mad _at him. It was impossible for me to be mad at Quil for too long…it probably had something to do with the fact that I was almost positively in love with him.

"I had to work last night and your uncle didn't let me off until just a few minutes ago." I felt anger boiling hot beneath my skin. I'd have to talk to Uncle Sam about that; he could _not_ treat my Quil like that – even if he wasn't technically _my _Quil. "I'll come see you later though, promise." He sounded worried, like he thought I was going to disown him or something.

"It's okay Quil," I laughed. "I'll get over it, _someday._" I added jokingly and heard him chuckle on the other line.

"Good."

"Are you going to pick me up from school?" I asked and tried not to feel the excitement brewing in my stomach. Driving home with Quil was like going on a roller coaster; he swerved all over the road just to hear me scream.

"Uh, Claire?" His voice was guilty again. "I will if you want me to, but…I'm really tired and I don't know if it would be safe-" I scoffed, but tried not to make it sound critical. Like driving home with him was ever safe anyways.

"It's okay Quil." I sighed. Was I _ever_ going to see him today?

"I bet Daniel would take you to Sam and Emily's if you asked nicely." He stifled a yawn into his shoulder on the last word.

"Okay. Get some sleep Quil."

"Hey, Cub?"

"Mhmm."

"I'll come over tonight for sure okay?"

"Okay." I flipped my phone shut and banged my head back into the wall. Sadness flowed over me like the waves on the shore and I focused hard on not crying. It was a stupid reaction, but Quil was like oxygen for me; I needed him to breathe and being away from him for so long was leaving my lungs dry and shriveled.

With a sigh, I slid up the wall and made a grab for the door handle; but something stopped me. Naughty Claire was making an appearance, and she wanted to skip the last half hour of class. _Mr. Jones will think you've gone home anyways…just go to your locker, grab your stuff and wait outside Danny's classroom so he can give you a ride home,_ she crooned, and I listened without a second thought.

Quil's absence was making me strangely rebellious, and Naughty Claire liked it. I followed her instructions obediently, ignoring skeptical glances from the office ladies as I passed to my locker. I grabbed the books I needed for my homework that night, stuffed them into my backpack, and hightailed my way out of the main building. Mrs. Connors, the school secretary, was legendary in her note checking, and I wanted to be as far away from her as possible while I skirted school law.

Daniel had math last period, so I plopped myself outside of the A building and closed my eyes against the sunlight. The warmth radiating from the big yellow star felt amazing on my body, and I relaxed into a reclined position. Warm and pondering, I fell asleep and dreamed of Quil.

xXx

Daniel was unexpectedly sympathetic to my situation when he came out of his class at the end of the day, and found me asleep in the grass waiting for him. He could tell something was bothering me – probably because I'd never _ever_ skipped class before – and I only told him when his questioning became annoying. For some reason he didn't believe that it was only the fact that Quil hadn't come to lunch, and the entire ride to our aunt and uncle's house he glanced at me like he expected more.

I couldn't fathom what his tiny, _tiny_ little brain was suspicious of with _Quil_, but I was past caring when we pulled into the driveway.

"Thanks for the ride Danny." I smiled as I yanked my backpack out of his back seat and slammed the door. "Tell mom and dad I'll walk home tonight."

Daniel raised an eyebrow. "Get Jake or Paul to drive you home alright?" He asked and I nodded slowly – suspiciously. "It's going to get dark fast because of the clouds and it's not safe to walk home alone." Now I was really suspicious. Since when was Daniel the over-protective older brother? And since when was La Push _dangerous_?

I nodded again and turned to walk into the tiny graying cottage. The flower pots underneath the little thatched windows were bereft of their usual brightness. It was still too early in the year for Aunt Emily's flowers to be growing, and without their color the house looked almost sinister in its blandness.

Danny honked on his way out and I heard his tires spin as he headed back out to the school. He had football practice.

A little voice wailed inside the house and a smile tugged at the corner of my lips. Anna was awake. Sam and Emily's latest addition to their family was _the loudest_ baby I'd ever heard; and the hungriest, so we heard her angry protests quite often. It wasn't uncommon to be interrupted mid-sentence by the tiny wailing thing.

Quil said I was just as loud as a baby but it was hard to believe that anything could match that volume.

I stomped my shoes off on the front steps and placed my hand on the door handle, but it flew open without me turning it. My little cousin Eli stood behind the door, his chubby little cheeks covered in some sort of orange goop.

"Come on in." He exclaimed happily and tugged me inside.

"Claire is that you?" Aunt Emily shouted from the baby's room.

"Yeah," I answered back and lifted Eli into my arms, balancing him on my hip. He pointed down the hallway and I followed his directions.

Emily stood in a cloud of baby powder with Anna squealing on the changing table in front of her. The new mother's hair was in a frazzled lump on top of her head and she had things smeared on her face that I didn't want to know about.

"What happened in here?" I asked. Eli wriggled in my arms and I set him down so that he could run to his mother. Emily just laughed, shrugging.

"Changing time is always a battle. You wanna grab a helmet and come help me?" Laughter bubbled up between my lips. I sighed dramatically and strapped imaginary armor on.

"Fire away captain."

xXx

Emily hadn't been kidding. Somehow in the course of changing two dirty diapers, I managed to rip my shirt, fall over, and bruise my shoulder. We left the kid's room laughing – Anna and Eli snoozing happily in their beds – and headed into the kitchen.

She unloaded a bundle of pots and pans to start making dinner while I sat down at their kitchen table to do homework. Before too long, the rich aroma of sizzling bacon circulated throughout the house and my stomach growled hungrily. I finished my last problem of math, and slammed the book shut with a satisfied sigh.

"So how are things at QTS these days?" Emily asked in a lull between cooking times. "Any hot gossip worth hearing about?"

I bit my lip and pretended to think very hard about the question. "Do you remember Stephanie Brookwater?" I asked and she nodded. Of course Emily would remember; she never forgot anybody.

Stephanie had been my best friend right up until seventh grade when she asked Chris Thompson out, right after I'd told her that I had a crush on him. I hated her after that, and without me and my family she had quickly slid down the drain.

"She got pregnant last week." I told her and felt the guilt take over my heart, just as it had done when I'd learned of this last Thursday. Stephanie had been an amazing friend to have. I had been able to tell her everything I couldn't tell Quil; all the girly junk that he wouldn't want to hear about anyways. It was hard, watching her life go downhill so quickly, because I knew that if I hadn't kicked her out of my life, none of this would have happened to her.

"That's terrible." Emily sighed and went to flip her twelfth omelet. She had to cook enough for an army just to keep her and her extended family fed. "She was such a nice girl."

I mumbled my agreement and stuffed my nose into_ Alas, Babylon_ which I had to read for English. I read the same page over and over again, pondering what it would be like to be fifteen years old and pregnant. I knew what _I_ would do in that situation, because I knew that I could count on my family and friends – Quil – to keep me sane and happy. But Stephanie had a crappy home life and I was scared for her. The more I thought about it the guiltier I felt, and soon my mood was so black it was almost nuclear.

Even the arrival of my uncle and his whimsical cohorts didn't help to improve my attitude – though they did make me laugh with their stories of miss-adventure and accidental hilarity. I did have to admit though, staring into the faces of the four men seated next to me, so alike in shape and features that they should have been brothers, that there was no place I'd rather be. Family or not, the men and women that worked for my uncle were the best bunch in the world. I wouldn't have traded any of them for anything.

No, that wasn't true. I would have traded all of them for Quil. Easily.


End file.
